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Online retail’s golden 1%

Just over 1% of a retail website’s users generate as much as 40% of its revenues according to new research from Qubit.

Based on analysis of 950m page views from more than 123m website visits, the research found that a customer segment identified as ‘big spenders’ make up just 0.03% of total users but create 30% of revenue.

Intensely loyal to their chosen retailer, they visit their preferred sites 300 times more often than the average user.

They’re 20% more likely than the average to be using a tablet, but are 10 times less likely to be visiting via a mobile.

ROI and conversions from Facebook ads increase in Q3

It comes off the back of a strong performance in Q2, when there were also improvements across the board compared to Q1.

The data from Kenshoo shows that CPC has dropped 9% in Q3 compared to Q2, while revenue per click (RPC) has increased 1.73x.

People use connected devices 34 times a day on average

A new IAB survey has found that the average person uses some form of ‘connected device’ 34 times a day.

The respondents averaged a total of two hours 12 minutes per day using a connected device, while for 46% of this time – one hour and one minutes – they’re using at least two devices, sometimes three, simultaneously.

Over half (52%) say they prefer to check their smartphone if they have any “downtime” rather than just sit and think. Among 18-30 year olds, the figure rises to over six in 10 (62%).

Over one third (37%) say they even check their smartphone if there’s a lull in conversation with friends. Over four in ten (44%) say their smartphone makes their commute more enjoyable.

The findings are based on studies carried out by independent research agency Firefish, involving over 1,350 interviews amongst smartphone owners and 700 hours of video footage from people wearing FishEye cameras.

Just 20% of companies have a well developed customer experience strategy

Customers still like email marketing

Consumer approval of email marketing has remain unchanged in the past 12 months, with one in four people (28%) saying that more than half of the emails they receive being of relevance to them; 50% still find at least one in three emails ‘relevant or interesting’.

Desktop remains the primary device for reading emails for 75% of consumers, with 57% saying they also access emails on smartphone. However, most mobile users (68%) would wait until they’re on laptop to buy a product they saw in an email on their phone. Just 7% say they would actually buy straight away using their phone.

Social referrals are on the up

Reddit and StumbleUpon referrals have declined by more than 27% each, while YouTube and LinkedIn referrals grew 52.86% and 34.51% respectively

Google+ is in last place of the eight social media platforms tracked for this study.

Aldi, John Lewis and Harrods are the social media stars of retail

Research from RadiumOne revealed that Aldi, John Lewis and Harrods would be the most successful supermarket, high street and luxury brands if performance was based on social media effectiveness.

Aldi was the surprise social supermarket winner. In addition to seeing the second most relevant digitally shared content, Aldi received an impressive 910,426 mentions with a relatively small Twitter following of 31,238. Its active posting on Facebook paid dividends too, with the supermarket gaining the most user comments and the second most likes.

Luxury brands also had significant social followings, with Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci enjoying combined Twitter and Facebook followings of around 16m, 15m and 12m respectively but Harrods, with a combined following of 718,487, was the surprise social media leader. It attracted over 10m likes from just 435,917 Facebook fans.

Organic search is pretty vital for any business, PPC ads are increasingly clicked on by a higher proportion of searchers, and with Google Hummingbird, social is likely to become more important for long tail search results.

Anthony Robinson, Head of SEO at Razsor, Auto Trader’s search and web design arm, talked us through how these three disciplines should be seen in the round.

In 2013, almost a decade after the founding of Facebook and seven years after the founding of Twitter, companies that aren’t listening to and participating in the social conversation do so at their own peril.

With the advent of Ikea introducing an augmented reality (AR) app to enhance its 2014 catalogue, we are starting to see a gradual shift in how retailers can use the power of digital to improve the customer experience.

The Great British Bake Off finale achieved 156,000 tweets during its 8pm-9pm broadcast last night.

The flagship BBC2 show has also seen a steep rise in audience figures over its 2013 season, achieving 9m viewers during its finale, up from 6.5m who watched the crowning of last year’s winner.

Although an assured move to BBC1 and a 32.6% audience share is a huge success, perhaps The Great British Bake Off’s greatest legacy is highlighting our changing viewing habits and how Twitter is transforming the way we watch TV.

There are numerous reports on the AI talent shortage. Some estimate that there are perhaps 300,000 AI experts worldwide but millions of open positions. Another report says the number of jobs requiring AI has increased by 450 % since 2013.

Transport app Citymapper is not the flashiest app out there. It’s not as well-known as Uber, or as widely-used as Google Maps. However, it’s certainly one that has served me well throughout 2018, and has cemented its long-term position on my home screen.